Dental Health Insurance: Is It Worth Investing in It?

Having health insurance coverage has always been a necessity, now more than ever. It protects you from high medical costs. Such costs are common with dental care as it is usually quite expensive. Paying for these out of pocket can be a challenge, in some cases these costs can come in the way of treatment. 

Practicing good dental and oral hygiene can prevent several oral problems. However, cavities, decay, and other issues are common. About 85% to 90% of adults and up to 80% of children in India have dental cavities [1]. In fact, dental caries, oral cancers, and periodontal diseases are areas of national health concern [2]. 

Visiting your dentist for diagnostic or preventive dental care helps manage dental issues better and can help you keep your costs down too. Health insurance companies offer dental insurance to help you cope with such issues with ease. But, not all health insurance plans cover these expenses. 

Read on to know what dental health insurance covers and if it is worth buying it. 

What is dental insurance and what does it cover?

Dental insurance is health insurance that provides cover for necessary dental procedures or treatments. Although health insurance may not cover all dental procedures, it does include preventive care like routine check-ups and some procedures such as fillings. The procedures included and excluded depend on different health plans offered by the insurers.

Inclusions under dental health insurance

Here is a list of dental procedures and treatments usually included by health insurance companies in their health plans:

• Dental filling or cavity filling
• Tooth extraction
• Infection and oral cyst
• Dental X-rays
• Dental surgeries
• Gum disease treatment
• Crowns, veneers, and root canals
• Dental follow-up treatments
• Routine oral health check-ups and preventive care
• Braces and clear aligners
• Exclusions under dental health insurance

• Dental prosthesis
• Dental implants
• Dentures and jaw alignment
• Upper and low jaw bone surgery
• Cosmetic surgeries and treatments
• Orthodontics and orthognathic surgeries

Which health insurance plans provide dental coverage?

Many general health insurance plans may provide dental coverage. Here are the types of insurance plans that may offer these benefits.

Individual health plans

Some individual health policies may include dental health in their basic coverage features. Other comprehensive individual plans may offer it as additional benefits or premium covers. You may have to pay extra to get this benefit.

Family floater plans

Dental insurance may get covered under family floater plans as they provide cashless benefits. Only a few family floater health insurance plans offer dental treatments coverage for the family members insured under the plan.

Critical illness plans

These health plans are stand-alone policies that cover specific types of health conditions. However, some critical illness plans may cover dental procedures that fall under critical medical treatments.

Preventive healthcare plans

The plans that offer regular health check-ups and consultation benefits can also cover dental treatments. Thus, check for dental procedure benefits before buying preventive care plans.

Personal accident cover

Your personal accident cover may also include dental expenses for teeth injury treatment due to an accident.

Should you buy dental health insurance?

If you are planning to buy medical insurance for dental care, do so during the earlier stages in life. Although dental problems mostly affect older people, they can occur at any age. Note that premiums on health plans during the early years are generally lower compared to plans for the elderly. Besides, keep in mind the waiting period clause as this can range from a few months to years.

As with any other medical expenses, dental treatments are usually expensive. This is mainly due to:

• Medical inflation
• Costly equipment
• Labor
• Innovations

In fact, oral diseases affect almost 3.5 billion people around the world [3]. Adding to that, OPD costs in India account for 62% of all healthcare costs [4]. Therefore, buying health insurance plans that cover such expenses makes sense.

What are the benefits of buying dental health insurance?

Protection against dental expenses

Continuous innovations, expensive setup, laboratory work, and advancements contribute towards rising dental expenses. Having health insurance with dental cover helps keep the dental treatment expenses in check. It lets you save your money while assuring care when you need it.

Maintenance of dental health

Health experts recommend consulting with a dentist at least once a year. However, a large population in India only visits dentists when their oral condition deteriorates and reaches a point where it becomes serious. This can lead to further oral health complications. With dental health insurance, you can get treatment at the right time as it provides you with financial support. This ensures that you don’t neglect dental care.

Extensive coverage benefits

Most standard health insurance plans do not cover expenses incurred on dental treatments. So, opting for a health plan that provides OPD cover including dental treatments offers you more coverage benefits. With such plans, you can enjoy all the features under a standard health plan plus the benefits of OPD coverage. You can avail benefits like coverage for day-care procedures, COVID-19 cover, hospitalization expenses, complimentary health check-ups, no room rent capping, and more.

Tax benefits

Like any other health insurance, you can enjoy tax-saving benefits with this health insurance. A tax deduction benefit of up to Rs.25,000 can be availed on the health premiums you pay.

A health insurance plan that provides comprehensive cover for dental health and other conditions is all you need to safeguard your health and savings. Consider buying the Complete Health Solution plans offered by Bajaj Finserv Health. These plans offer you preventive health check-up benefits with 45+ lab test packages, network discounts of up to 10%, and reimbursements on doctor consultations of your choice. Subscribe to these plans today and take care of your overall health and well-being.